The energetics of extratropical cyclones

The use of energetics analyses in studies of extratropical cyclones has received increasing attention over the past 15 years. Particularly significant have been analyses of the transport, generation, and dissipation of kinetic energy and the diabatic generation of available potential energy. In examining the energetics of extratropical cyclones this paper (1) reviews and distills the results of kinetic energy and available potential energy budget studies carried out over the past 15 years and (2) uses these results to establish the significance of the extratropical cyclone in the general circulation.